USC Trojans' senior tight end Blake Ayles intends to transfer to the University of Miami
We’re only two weeks into 2011 and already the USC Trojans football team is down two players.
Senior tight end Blake Ayles announced Wednesday that he will transfer to the University of Miami, rejoining former USC assistant coach Brennan Carroll.
The Trojans also announced Thursday that wide receiver Thearon Collier, who transferred to USC from Miami in 2010, is no longer with the team.
Ayles will be eligible to play at Miami immediately because of NCAA provisions allowing USC’s seniors and juniors to transfer without penalty in 2010 and 2011 due to the sanctions and postseason bowl bans (dubbed “the free agency rule” by USC head coach Lane Kiffin).
Ayles told the Los Angeles Times it was “a fresh start,” one he hopes will turn him into a starting tight end. In his three seasons at USC, Ayles had 14 catches for 182 yards and one touchdown. He struggled with injuries and strong competition on the depth chart, competition that would’ve continued this season with the return of senior Rhett Ellison and redshirt sophomores Xavier Grimble, Randall Teifer and Christian Thomas.
“I didn’t have that much fun last year,” Ayles told the Times, admitting he considered a transfer to Miami before the 2010 season. When new Miami head coach Al Golden hired Brennan Carroll as tight ends coach and national recruiting coordinator, Ayles says he contacted the former USC assistant, who apparently told him he’d have a spot in Miami. Carroll, who was let go by USC before his contract expired, is reportedly still being paid by the university.
While Ayles looks for a fresh start in Miami, former Hurricanes wide receiver Collier has had his hopes for a new beginning in L.A. come to an abrupt end. After being dismissed from the Miami Hurricanes football team, Collier transferred to USC in August and sat out during the 2010 season per NCAA transfer rules. The school said today that he is no longer with the team.
Had he stayed, Collier would’ve had to fight for every minute of playing time with the Trojans’ stable of young, talented wide receivers. As a true freshman in 2010, Robert Woods became one of quarterback Matt Barkley’s prime targets, leading the team in receiving yards and yards per reception and earning Pac-10 Offensive Freshman of the Year honors. He is likely to be the Trojans’ number one receiver in 2011.
Woods’ fellow freshman Kyle Prater was also expected to compete for playing time last season. Prater enrolled at USC a semester early to participate in spring practices but was slowed with injuries and redshirted. He should be healthy in plenty of time for spring ball this year and will finally have the opportunity to show what he can do.
USC also has several highly-touted recruits coming in at the wide receiver position. George Farmer (Serra H.S.) and Victor Blackwell (Mater Dei H.S.) have committed to play for the Trojans in 2011; both were selected to play in last weekend’s U.S. Army All-American Bowl last weekend. Kiffin has even begun shoring up his recruiting class for 2012, recently offering a scholarship to high school junior Darreus Rogers (Carson H.S.), who gave his non-binding commitment to USC.
Without Ayles and Collier, USC currently has just 59 scholarship players on the roster. The NCAA sanctions include scholarship limits that cap the number of available scholarships at 75 – a 10-scholarship per year reduction – but USC will appeal that ruling next week.
